Carthage Central may change mission statements

GREAT BEND  Carthage Central School District is working to create a greater sense of community among its schools.

A Board of Education member wants all of the schools in the district to have a unified mission statement. However, the process could take months.

The mission statements are on the district calender sent to parents at the beginning of the school year.

It struck me that all the elementary schools have their own mission statements, board member Mary Louise Hunt said at Mondays meeting. Educationally, theyre all the same. Were all teaching the Common Core and were all doing the same thing.

Board member Tod W. Nash agreed.

Most corporations have one mission statement, he said.

The middle school and high school also have different mission statements, according to Assistant Superintendent Andrea K. Miller.

We should be able to say what we need in a clear statement, Mrs. Hunt said.

She wants the changes to be made in the upcoming district calender, but Superintendent Peter J. Turner said the planning team  the committee to decide on a mission statement  will not meet until September.

It would then ultimately go back to the board, Mr. Turner said after the board meeting.

In other business, the Board of Education decided to break tradition by holding graduation the day after school ends next June.

Mr. Turner pointed out that the last day of school will be on a Thursday because of the calender changes. Graduation typically has been on a Friday, but so has the last day of school.

I think having it Friday night allows people to come in from out of town, Mrs. Hunt said.

High school Principal Joseph S. Sedita said a third of the stands usually are filled with people from outside the area, recommending the district wait a day to graduate the class of 2014.

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